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“combining the creepiest hotel room I could imagine with a good ol’ hot jazz march”
3:52
For most of the 2000s, I worked in admissions for Maryville College, a great little liberal arts school in Maryville, TN while I was trying to learn how to start and run technology businesses as a side hustle. I met a lot of interesting people at college fairs, including Brett Winston, a fellow Knoxville-based admissions counselor who is also a musician and songwriter. One afternoon, he showed me a “hot jazz march” progression using jazz chords that a buddy of his had taught him shortly before that, and right after that, I had a series of overnight travel trips for MC in northern Tennessee and Kentucky. I stayed in downtown Louisville towards the end of that road trip, and we were encouraged to find “safe but affordable” lodging. I don’t remember the name of the hotel I stayed in that night, but it was old, it hadn’t been remodeled since the 70s, and I was the ONLY person staying there that night. The clerk at the desk told me so when I was checking in, and asked me if I’d like to stay in the biggest suite in the hotel. I’m sure I said something like, “Hell yeah!” But when I got in that suite, it was huge, it was as 70s as could be, with high, deep-orange shag carpet, giant olive-colored floor lamps with bases wider than I could wrap my arms around, and when I pulled the shades back, out the window I could see a neon sign for a strip club. I always traveled with my guitar back then, and Wicked Din came out of me pretty quickly, combining the1 creepiest hotel room I could imagine with a good ol’ hot jazz march. The red neon light for the strip club brought up the idea of sin, that went to original sin, and then I threw in a break down of sorts in the middle.
Mac Bartinelead vocals and rhythm guitar
Wicked is a weird little song that I’ve never been able to think of in any genre other than a Halloween song, and that’s basically what we went into the studio to make. Jules’s oddball synth sounds, Rich’s messing around with the strings past the bridge at the beginning, Brian’s lap steel with an almost theremin-sounding effect over it…all that is the stuff that makes this song fun for me, and I loved recording it.
Rich Adlinlead guitar and harmony vocals
Gretsch Electromatic, Nobles ODR-1, 1979 Fender Deluxe Reverb amp with Celestion speaker. I wanted a raw, sharp hollow body tone like Marc Ribot on Tom Waits albums, who also influenced my approach to the song, including the solo. Angular and trebly. Maybe a little bit of Alex Lifeson’s splashy guitar chords from Grace Under Pressure. This is one of our earlier songs, one that I remember working on when it was just Mac and I fiddling around. Love Brian’s steel in this and Mac’s vocals–both combine for extra creepiness. And I’ve come to identify the song title which became the title track as an apt description of our sounds musically–A Wicked Din of the sounds of 6 guys stirred into a steaming musical cauldron.
I heard the mission bells
Tolling to keep out Hell
And hailed a taxi to my lover’s den
She brought me apple wine
And kisses so divine
And all the while those bells tolled in my head
Outside a neon wall
Offered knowledge to all
We threw the shutters out to let the red light in
And so we sealed our fate
Now never to abate
Dancing the night away making a wicked din
Ooooo…
Ooooo…
Hey…
I heard the mission bells
Tolling to keep out Hell
And hailed a taxi from my lover’s den
She cried, “come back again
“We’ll recreate our original sin
“I’ll bring you apple wine and let the red light in”
We’ll let the red light in
We’ll let the red light in
We’ll let the red light in
Hey…
Ooooo…
A spectacular showcase of the band's songwriting flair and performance talent on this superb prog rock outing.
Plastic Mag
In the title track, “Wicked Din,” driving percussion and mysterious, siren-like sounds create an almost cinematic, spacey atmosphere. The storytelling quality of the vocals adds to the sensation of being transported somewhere slightly unfamiliar.
Rock Era Magazine
Glistening organs and hazy guitar work complement doses of escalated melodic entrancement, with an interplay of synths and guitar gripping at the two-minute turn and leading into a delectably eerie choral procession.
Obscure Sound
Features powerful beats that set the rhythm for its beginning.
Indieoclock
Makes us feel like we're flying.
Indieoclock
From its opening moments, Wicked Din, the titular, central track on Chameleous Band's debut album release, refuses to stay in a box.
Lost in the Manor
It unfurls slowly, layers being patiently stacked upon each other as the song progresses, to create an instrumental section that sounds simple but is, in reality, a lot more complex than it seems.
Lost in the Manor
Touches of jazz intermingle with electric rock and tinges of psychedelia to create a song that keeps you on your toes.
Lost in the Manor
With a vocal delivery that's smooth enough to feel like another instrument in itself, this is a track that keeps things interesting throughout …
Lost in the Manor
Jules' unusual synthesizer textures, Rich Adlin's experimental guitar sounds and Brian Wooten's haunting lap steel create an especially distinctive sonic palette.
Dulaxi
The finished arrangement feels theatrical, hypnotic and slightly unsettling, perfectly matching a song about navigating beauty, temptation and chaos within a single “Wicked Din.”
Dulaxi
That particular phrase, wicked din, suggests something between chaotic noise and genuine mischief, fitting naturally alongside a band whose entire name reflects constant shifting and transformation rather than settling into any single fixed identity.
Apricot Magazine